Comparison Of Percy Jackson Lightning Thief By Rick Riordan And Columbus

Percy Jackson Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and Columbus is a modernized version of Danaus, Perseus, and the Gorgon by D’Aulaires and we see both stories go through the theme good vs evil, the event as the quest, and the character type the prodigy. There are similarities that can be found in the greek story and the movie, so this essay is going to highlight the main points that were similar starting with the theme.

By going through similar challenges and completing tasks, both stories have the theme of good vs evil. Percy Jackson Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and Columbus is a modernized version of Danaus, Perseus, and the Gorgon by D'Aulaires which is the legend of Perseus. Percy Jackson is a demi god whose father is Poseidon while Perseus

From the modernized story, Percy travels to Camp Half-Blood for training on how to fight the evil, it is a camp strictly for half mortals and half gods only. From this camps he sparks interest with Athena’s daughter and gains a “friend” with Hermes’ son who gives him armour (Columbus). In the original story, it states. “Athena lent him her shield, polished as brightly as a mirror. Hermes lent him his sword which was so sharp that it could cut through the hardest metal…” (D’Aulaires, pg 117). In the movie, instead of gaining amour from Athena’s daughter he got training which is relevant to this generation. Also, in the Legend of Perseus story it says “...and he also needed three magic things owned by the nymphs of the north, they told him, but even the gods did not know where these nymphs lived.” (D’Aulaires, pg 117) This was his task, to go on and find three nymphs with challenges among them. However in the modern version, Percy had to find three pearls that will take him to Olympus with challenges among them as well (Columbus). As a modern version, the pearls were scattered in states and in the legend it was spread throughout the land. Lastly, in the legend the text states.”’Here is the head you wanted!’ he shouted, and pulled Medusa’s head out of the bag. Startled, the king and his men looked up, and there

In Danaus, Perseus, and the Gorgon the text states. “...she was the happy bride of Zeus. But when her father heard the cried of an infant from her chamber he broke through the walls in a rage, intending to kill his grandson. When he learned that Zeus was the child’s father he did not dare lay hands on him.” (D’Aulaires, pg 115) The child of Zeus is Perseus and knowing this, the child is in fact a demi god since his mother is a mortal and Zeus is a god. In Percy Jackson Lightning Thief, Percy goes to Camp Half-Blood and discovers he is the child of Poseidon, god of the sea. With these important factors, both characters are demigods. They both need help on how to become the gods their fathers want them to be. Also, in the legend of Perseus story the text states, “As he stood at a crossroad wondering which way to go, Athena and Hermes suddenly appeared. Zeus had sent them to help him.” (D’Aulaires, pg 117) With help from his father, these two gods will give him the support he needs to fight like a god, such as his father Zeus. For the modernized version, Percy is at Camp Half-Blood training for battle when he hears a voice saying to use the water when he was injured and weak. By touching the water, Percy recovered with no injury and no sign of weakness, he had the same powers his father Poseidon had and the voice was Poseidon (Columbus). Percy was able to get the support